Leftovers

We sent half the turkey meat home with the Bolivers, but we still have loads. So far we have had just plain reheated leftovers, turkey sandwiches, turkey noodle soup, and turkey and stuffing casserole. I am making turkey fettuccini tonight for dinner.

I am also going to make 2 of mom's Turkey Rellenos to freeze. That should probably finish of the bird, but if there are any bits and pieces left, then I will chop it up with a little celery and dill and make turkey salad for my lunch, and if there is still some left, then I will freeze it for another batch of soup for next week.

Recapping the leftover ideas:
turkey sandwiches
turkey noodle soup
turkey-stuffing casserole
turkey fettuccini
turkey relleno
turkey salad
turkey devon
turkey enchiladas

Thanksgiving

I bought the 21 pound turkey on Monday at Safeway for just $6. I used mom's old club card to get that great price. Actually, I think the card is in Anna's name. I put the frozen turkey in the fridge on Monday and by Wednesday night it seemed pretty thawed. But Thursday morning when we pulled out the turkey we found that the breast was thawed, but the back was still frozen. So the turkey had to spend an hour in the sink before we could get it in to cook.

Nathan is the turkey man. He cleaned out that bird for a good half hour. Sydney tried to get him to put an egg inside the turkey, then call Hannah over to see it. He he he. We put the turkey in at 8:40 and Nathan set his alarm to remind him to baste the turkey every half hour.

Hannah was my kitchen helper. She rolled out the pie shells and mixed the ingredients. She wiped counters and did dishes while Emily, Sydney, and John made playdough pies. Sydney worked hard to color and cut out name cards for everyone, then she set the table.

Hannah is fish-sitting for our neighbors who live 2 doors down. We got permission from them to use their oven, so we walked down there at about noon and put the pumpkin pies in to bake. We ran back and forth about 6 times to check on them and put the apple pie in. I think the pies are better fresh, but it seemed silly to run back and forth, and I'm sure I looked a little crazy. I think there would have been time to throw the pies in to bake just after the rolls, because we didn't actually eat the pies until about 5:30pm, but that would have been stressful.

The turkey was beautifully browned and ready to come out at about a quarter to two. Nathan pulled it out, and he continued to baste it as it sat on the counter. He saved 2 quarts of drippings for me and I made a really good gravy. This may be the 1st time that I didn't have to chuck out my first gravy attempt and use a packet. Here's how I did it: I let the drippings settle, then I sucked off some of the fat from the top. I mixed the fat with 1/3 cup of flour, then wisked in more drippings - maybe 4 cups. The gravy turned out creamy and yummy, and it looked good to. But I have no gravy boat. I tried to buy a gravy boat this week, but I didn't find one. Oh well, the gravy did fine in a mug.

Just as the turkey came out, our friends the Bolivers arrived. They brought mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (seriously the best sweet potatoes ever - she baked the yams, scooped out the insides, and put 'em in a casserole, and topped it with brown sugar and pecans, baked it again - and wow - excellent even without the marshmallows) jello, green bean casserole, and 2 chocolate pies. YUM! Luckily none of the kids mentioned that I hate green beans.

The rolls came out just as the turkey was carved and the dinner was ready. Great food and good friends. Perfect.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Danger

Strong Em

Towels...again

I talked to the store owner on Monday and she loved the towels. She really liked the bunny towels (they are not my favorite, but easy to sew) and the ladybug. I could tell she was not as in love with the duck or the shark as I am, but she purchased all of the towels that I had made. Tonight (Thursday) she hosts a "Ladies' Night" in her shop where she will introduce her new line of baby items. She thinks that there will be several orders for more towels. Isn't this fun? This week I also sold a pink shark poncho style towel to a neighbor, and a different neighbor ordered a blue shark poncho and a cat! Exciting.

In other news it is just one week until Thanksgiving. What do you think Nathan would say if I pulled this out of the oven? Okay, I had a picture of a bikini line turkey here, but I decided it was too freaky. If you want to see it you will have to google it. Or maybe I will link it. But I just couldn't look at it again. scary.

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Open for Business

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Blue Bunny


Pink Bunny


Shark


Ladybug


Duck

Weekend Highlights

Basement cleaned out and reorganized (boxes atleast piled a little higher)
Daddy Daughter Campout a smashing success: Backpacking + MRE's + rainstorm = FUN!
5 sample towels finished and way cute.
Primary Sacrament Progam completed. Phew.


After I bought the towels and got ready to sew them, I remembered that we have a dog hair problem. No one wants to buy hairy towels. I decided I needed to to take drastic action, and squeeze my sewing stuff into the basement. The basement has no carpet, and Sam does not go down there - perfect! After a couple days spent slowly sorting and shifting, and rigging a couple more lights and finding an extension cord I was able to get to work.

It so happened that we had an extra day this weekend, so Nathan packed up the camping gear and took the 3 girls camping up in the Black Hills. They headed out at about noon on Friday, and instead of getting right to work like I was supposed to, John and I took a nap. Then we went and hung out with our neighbor's kids while she took her neice to the ER (she fell while hiking, but she's okay.) When we got home it was time for a bowl of ice cream and bed. But we got up early on Saturday and got to work.

I thought we would have all morning to work, but Nathan and the girls were home by 9am. It gets dark at about 5pm, and since they couldn't have a campfire they went to bed early, so they were up early, and home early. They were suprisingly dry for hiking through a rain storm (The Man Scout was prepared with orange ponchos.)

They needed cocoa and baths, then we headed to the church to get things set up for the Primary Sacrament Presentation. Then back home to sew for a bit more - and wah-lah! Two bunnies, one duck, one shark, and one ladybug! They are really cute. Really. I know how to use the camera, I just forgot about it. Tomorrow. Pictures. Maybe.

There is really nothing to say about the Sacrament Presentation. We made it through. Only one little guy tried to rip the microphone off the podium, so we will call it a success. I also did a great Sharing Time about Testimonies. I think it was one of my best yet. I may be getting better at this Primary thing.

So tomorrow morning I am meeting with the store lady at 9:30am. I made up a little order form, but I didn't fill in the prices. I think maybe I will just see what she is thinking and go from there. Ahh. I don't know. Wish me luck!

I also thought of a great name:

4 Little Ducks

('cuz, you know, like, I have 4 little "ducks" and also the towels are FOR little "ducks". Okay, probably lame, but too bad, that's the best I got. And I could change it tomorrow.)

Turkey Treat

Mom sent directions for making this last year. Sydney found a letter from Grammy tonight, but it just had a picture of the turkey and no directions for making it. Thanks to google, we found the recipe. Now you, too, can make a Cocoa Crisp Turkey!

I think I have a job. I make these little hooded towels and give them out to friends at babyshowers. Now a little business in town is wanting to carry them. She has asked about them a couple of times, and now I need to make some samples and take them to see what she is interested in ordering. She is wanting a boy towel, and girl towel, and the ducky towel.

So I need some business advice. Do I need a business license, or should I wait and see if I actually earn money? I sold these towels about 10 years ago when we lived in CA and at that time I had a business license and claimed income and expenses on our taxes, but I don't think I will be selling very many between now and the end of the year. I'm thinking there is a tax rule that says if your business doesn't make more than like $400 than you don't have to claim it. But I don't know.

I need a name for my little towel business. When I sold them before I called them Wild Things - but that sounds a little risque! Any ideas?

Also, I need to decide on a price. Do you think $24 retail is too much. Let's be honest - I wouldn't buy a hooded towel for that much, but this is a rather high priced shop, and that would be just $12 wholesale. I spend $6-7 / towel so I would be making around $5 each. I don't really want to go lower, but maybe $20 retail is more reasonable than $24.

I would like to appear professional and have an order form and little tags on the towels. I will make a blue shark for the boy towel and a white-with-pink bunny as the girl towel. Do you think I should also have a gift basket with a towel and soaps for her to see?

I don't have any pictures of the towels, but I will be sewing tonight and tomorrow and then I will post some. She is also interested in Nathan's baby rattles. This is kind of fun!

This is a cute story about a Barrett family in North Dakota who bought a whole school to live in and homeschool their children.

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